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Six months have passed and this is the half-time for the year 2016. Well, I found that out just two days ago. The last six months have been the fastest part of an year in my whole life. I feel that I missed most of the days during these months, and that there is the need to keep writing down these days so that it won’t give me the feeling that I missed some of these. I have never really known the existence of some of these days because time has taken off with some super-powered wings.

These days, I have been thinking that there are just two sides to everything, and when we have free-time, people are just bothered about it, and when we are so busy, people are just not happy about it. These days, most of my time is spent in the office or in the traffic, and people have been asking about what I have been doing to be so busy. Well, even when I was not working, I did keep myself busy. These days, as I have a job, I am busy without any need to keep myself so.

There is something about starting from the city in a long-distance bus, and after one and half hours of traveling, you are still in that city. At the same time, you have traveled through so many pot-holes that you will feel that it is the time to retire. Meanwhile, the rain keeps coming down so hard that you have to keep the shutter down and be denied the view outside. To add to that, there is more water in the pot-holes than in the canal that runs in front of our home.

But things do keep happening, and leaving the confidential information aside, there has been the presence of a new car. Yes, finally got to my first sedan and the very first diesel car – this is also the first time I have gone for red. There has been a lot of traveling after that, even though the only day that I get to travel is a Sunday, with six working days on my list. As Id-Ul-Fitr was there, that came as some relief, and the next relief is to be on the Independence Day next month, and the month after that, Onam.

The number of movies I have watched at the theatres in the last six months is also at an all-time low for the last few years, as the movie count got stuck at seventeen instead of the fifty which I was planning to complete. The journey of the day that lasts from early morning to night has taken the movie time too, and I wouldn’t dare to remember the last time I watched the television – but that is really a good thing though; there was never something that good on the idiot box.

I have had good time with work, but things before and after work has been pretty much the trouble. There is that list of things which are to be done otherwise, and there are those extra things which are to be there as part of the contribution from others. Just now, I have managed to sneak in and get a stereo and the nitrogen filling for the car. The rain has made sure that I will have all the exercise I need with washing the car.

This one is a very personal post from the memories. Nostalgia always has some special space in our world, and a few things have more special place. There are a few things which comes to my mind when talking about nostalgia. These have had special spots in my mind for a very long time. I would like to start this post with myfirst laptop, an Acer which is still the costliest laptop which I ever had. Three laptops came after this one, from Lenovo, Asus and Dell, but this one continues to be the first image to come to mind when someone talks about laptop.

Nostalgia has its place among pets too, and there is one cat at my aunty’s house who is a cause of nostalgia. Now, even the age of this cat’s son has passed, but this one is my favourite among all cats before Simona. She was the official cool cat of that time, and she was almost everywhere. We couldn’t keep a cat at home during those times as it was a flat where we lived, but this one helped. Cats were needed and here was one.

This floral carpet, the pookkalam made for Onam is another special one. We had these at our flat every year, and this was the one which looked special. It was all about flower designs in different shapes until then, but this one was the big Kathakali face, and so I remember this one a lot. Every year, I looked to see if the face came back, but this was the only time.

I have had a unicorn loving childhood, and so buying a Honda Unicorn was a necessity for me. I tried hard to sell the existing TVS Centra and buy this one. So, Honda Unicorn made it to our home on a special day, and that began a large number of journeys and the exploration of the town as well as the city of Cochin like never before. It became a connection between us friends, and this became our official youth transportation, mostly for having food 😀

Then there is the old church – it has been part of my long stay at one town. I was a regular visitor to this church for years, and even now I see the structure when I go through the particular town. But the truth remains that this is the church which I visited less despite it being my parish. It seems that I have a certain liking for all churches other than my parish church. So, I have visited the church less, and so I started missing this church very early 😀

The great TATA Indica has been the car which I had driven the most, a record which is now broken by the current Chevrolet Beat. This car has gone to a lot of places, as we traveled to many corners of the central Kerala and a little bit to the South. Beat has covered almost the whole of Kerala, but this Indica used to be a big travel inspiration. It didn’t even have the stereo; dad hated music and I had to use the mobile music 😀

Then there is the most beautiful thing among them all, the desktop computer – it is something which can’t be seen at any of my friends’ home these days and I miss this thing. There was the joystick, the webcam, the speakers, the landline, the UPS, the headphone, the modem, the caller id and even that old Nokia 6600 – also see the number of wires. This was taken after I bought an extra special graphics card for being the great gamer – those days were so grand; there were those games which kept the happiness factor high 😀

***All the images used in this blog post were taken by me only on my cameras and mobiles of those times. ***We go through more bikes, cars, laptops and many other things which are more modern, but something from the past stays 🙂

On 9th April 2015, Renault Lodgy was launched. It has been a much awaited seven/eight-seated car for some time now with a price range below Toyota Innova. It is also a lot better looking than the other cars of the same category. I find the front grills as well as the lights on the back to be unique. Originally named as Dacia Lodgy, with the Romanian manufacturer being a subsidiary of Renault, this car is going to make big changes in the automobile industry in India. Into this new Lodgy universe, I would like to take a few things.

Simona the Kitty: Well, Simona the Kitty hasn’t gone for a journey in a car yet. She has been afraid of the motor vehicles and runs away in case one of them comes any close to her. But she loves to rest under the cars or even around the tyres when the vehicle is at rest. With the new Renault Lodgy, we would like to take her on a journey, may be to our ancestral home or to one of our uncles’ places. It will explore another world for her, and she is going to love those seats.

The Book Rack: I have a small book rack in my room which I would like to add to the list of things to be taken along with all the books on it. The advertisement itself tells us to take our world with us, and there is no real world without the books, and these will nicely suit the bigger universe that Renault Lodgy has to offer. With Renault preparing to revolutionize the Indian automobile industry, I see no reason why those favourite revolutionary books are left behind during any journey – books are permanent need.

Badminton Equipment: The sporting needs get to another level now. Once upon a time, we used to play a lot of badminton at home. But now there are not enough people who are willing for a game, and our new place is terribly dull. So, it is time to take the game with us, and all these equipment will need a lots of space as we go to the relatives’ place. It is quite a big collection here which we have here, and it will be a pleasure to go for the game in a Renault Lodgy.

The Laptop and the Tablet: There is no life without the laptop, and the tab just comes as the plan B item in case the laptop turns to be not that good enough for the time. The laptop does weight a lot, and so my parents never really allowed me to carry something which took so much space in the car, but never more with Renault Lodgy and all the space that it provides. It will only be the second time that I take my current laptop somewhere; the first time being to Delhi for the India Today Conclave, and surely the first time for my tablet.

The Figurines of Saint Christopher and Our Lady of Good Voyage: There are two of these which I would keep with me to ensure the safe journey. The latter one has been part of my car for quite a long time, and along with a figurine of the patron saint of travelers, I would like to keep my Renault Lodgy a blessed place. These would be the fifth and final items which I would like to take with me in the Lodgy, as there is this car which asks to #LiveLodgycal.

It is the time to live lodgycal, with Renault Lodgy. Its spacious world makes sure that it is the universe that we have always wanted, and the power also contributes to the same. It is a family car – so we never really have to go without our people. You just need to go to their website to know how good it looks, not just on the outside, but also inside the grand new vehicle. There might be many cars, but Renault Lodgy is surely something which catches our attention quite fast. #LiveLodgycal

I’m participating in the #LiveLodgycal contest with Renault in association with BlogAdda to get a chance to be a part of the #LiveLodgycal Drive in Goa.

Here, I am sharing ten photos of my Chevrolet Beat which are among my favourites. All of them were taken between the districts of Trivandrum and Kannur in Kerala. This is the result of my realization that I could manage to drive it for only one thousand kilometres between the last two services. It is a new low and I am hoping to boost the desire for another journey in the Beat with this post. It won’t happen anytime soon due to certain cirumstances, but I would rather let the boost happen first 😀

@Muzhappilangad (Kannur)

@Thattekkad (Kothamangalam)

@Varkala

@Urulanthanni (Kuttampuzha)

@Parakkadavu (Arakuzha)

@Thommankuthu (Thodupuzha)

@Arakuzha

@UC College (Aluva)

@Calicut

@Chowara (Aluva)

***All the photos were taken on my camera or mobile. The number plate is blurred in case someone wants to ram their car into my Beat just because of boredom or random hatred 😛

Where does the need for an upgrade come? We all feel the need to upgrade our cars to something better – and it doesn’t matter how much satisfied we are with the existing vehicles, that this need will come sooner or later. Sometimes, the need will arrive and go only to come back later. It is like something that is embedded in everyone; the need to make things better can keep making an appearance again and again.

One of my uncles said a few years ago “When you grow up, you will need new and improved cars and then you will want even more” – even though I don’t completely agree with this statement, there is some truth about it as far as the desires of the common man are concerned. We never stop having that desire for something better than what we have without ourselves, and there is that desire gaining a lot more power when life gets a lot better.

So, here comes the need to travel to the different car shops around. With the shops selling second-hand cars, it is extremely difficult to find the right car at the right price. Some of them will ask for too much and a few other shops will not be that easy to locate. The best ones might also be located too much inside the city limits which will make traveling too difficult, especially if it is a busy life already.

So, you can go with the online option instead by choosing the cars and bikes option at the website of Quikr. You can choose from the most popular brands there, and the presence of so many options make sure that you are never disappointed. I could see some nice Maruti-Suzuki Swift and Honda Amaze cars which seem suitable to buy after I give an advertisement to sell my Chevrolet Beat. Swift has been an interesting choice for me since long ago.

I don’t think that a Mahindra Verito or Maruti-Suzuki Ritz would be lesser options for an upgrade either. There are so many options right there, waiting for me. I am sure that an advertisement can easily get my car sold there too. With the addition of Quikr NXT to the list of useful things, so many people are sure to approach me asking about the Chevrolet Beat. As you might already know, it has complete number privacy and history options.

I am hoping to have a good conversation to find the right buyer there. The chat option can be used to a good advantage for this as well as for buying the right car at the best price. Chevrolet Beat is a very good machine which should fetch a good price, and the right adjustment has to be made with the new car which is bought – all these are possible through Quikr NXT, as it seems.

Quikr is a name that you can trust with ease. The only thing that you need to be sure about having is a Quikr Id – everything else should go on like a breeze. As India’s biggest online and mobile classifieds portal, Quikr has already made a mark. It has clearly brought a nice change about how things are bought and sold online. You might find many other options offline, but Quikr is different and special – do try it online some day! It is the next level of online shopping!

The images used in this blog post are of my car and were taken on my Sony Cybershot DSC W-310. The blog post was written as part of the Happy Hours Campaign from Quikr NXT in association with Indiblogger. Quikr provides a great platform for buying and selling. Check here for more details about the same: http://www.quikr.com/

On the road safety should be a priority. The number of road accidents don’t seem to come down by much, and neither does the deaths by the same. If you open the newspaper early morning, this is what you get first. Yes, there are news about other kinds of deaths, murders, robbery and everything else, but this is more of a case that you can avoid as long as everyone can find safety as a priority, and not some other random things like reaching a place early or driving fast and in a stylish manner with almost no reason. *Except for the first photo on the road which was taken on my Sony Cybershot DSC W310, the rest are from Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) website.

1. Let there be no pothole: Even as this is completely in the hands of the government, it is up-to us motorists to raise our voice for getting the roads repaired. Yes, it is injurious to the suspension of the vehicles, but the bigger problem is when people suddenly breaks or turns the vehicles causing accidents – there are even cases of people falling into some of the deeper ones and losing control of the two-wheelers, sometimes even causing deaths. There is more than one kind of terror that these potholes can come up with, and repairing the roads shouldn’t take long. There are too many bad roads around, and each pothole is a possible death-bringer, especially during the rainy season. We have such problems even on the state and national highways – not fair at all.

2. Know no traffic signal breaks: We see this too often, and the cars which do this often are the big ones, and the same is the case of those huge trucks or buses and often the auto rickshaws. Sometimes, it won’t be that easy following the signals, as they could work in a strange manner, and there might be occasions when they just stop working or when the police tries to help, it doesn’t work well. But our duty is to obey the signal, and at the same time look for the movement from other vehicles. Yes, a few adjustment would be needed here as there is a difference in the concept of “yellow” for many people. So always look for any vehicle passing through before obeying the traffic lights. Some of those who breaks the traffic signals even have number plates which are hard to read – how can someone allow such a thing?

3. Realize your speed limit: Even if someone has bought a costly car with a top speed beyond comprehension, he should also be paying the fine for breaking the speed limit, may be a bigger fine for the bigger cars – small fines rarely make an impact due to having a big purse. What we should do on these occasions is to try not to race with the maniacs who can’t decrease their speed. Let’s keep within the speed limits because a rule is a rule, and it is a fair thing to do. Along with the same, use helmets and seat belts – yes, we may be driving slow and causing no trouble to others, but there will always be those maniacs who drive fast and without any responsibility. Let’s save ourselves and not fall into the death-trap for the fault of someone else. After all, it seems like a group of drivers who don’t care at all, and it is up-to us to bring a change here. Let’s also hope for more “hidden” cameras to catch these people.

4. Respect the rest of your kind: There is nothing like giving chance for the rest of the humanity, including the motorist and the pedestrian a chance to pass. We are not the only busy people out on the streets, an everyone needs a fair chance. It might not be easy to let someone pass through and take a turn when some random stranger is honking from the back, but lets give that person a chance. To add to it, the road doesn’t belong to anyone in particular, and so keep left and stay off the side of the path. It is only by respect towards the rest of the people on the road that once can claim to be a good driver – not by driving fast, scaring others or by showing circus on the bike. It is not about having a costly vehicle and making some ridiculous sound either – give respect and take respect, as for a good number of people, vehicles are for transportation and not to show off.

5. Discover the indicator: Some people still don’t know where this button is. It comes under the steering, for some cars on the right and for the other, on the left. It also seems to take too much strength to do the same, that a lot of people just turns without prior warning, especially the auto rickshaws, buses and trucks. I have often wondered where their indicators are? Do they usually come out of the showroom without that facility? Everybody needs an indicator, and let’s hope that someone will tell these people about the same. Meanwhile, lets make sure that each and everyone of use indicators whenever there is a need, and after taking a turn, we need to be sure that it is turned off – we don’t want to create another nuisance on the road by having a tendency to turn in a direction almost every second.

6. Find a way to dim the lights: This is a necessity, especially as the road is no private property. There is roughly around fifty percent of the night drivers who dim their lights. It is all about what they can see, and the rest needs to adjust. They don’t realize that the other person also has the need to see the road. Even when we brighten and dim our lights, some people don’t seem to care. I would guess that it is because night driving is not taught in driving schools. Those who wish to get a licence are taught only how to take the “H” in the case of four-wheelers and “8” for two-wheelers. Even the driving time on the roads happen during the daytime and nobody knows that what to do with the bright and dim feature. The system of giving driving licence surely needs a change.

7. The things that are never to do: The first thing to follow is never to drink and drive. Any doubt about the same is just plain ridiculous. There are so many of such incidents that we know from the newspapers. The second thing is not to use the mobile phones while driving. I don’t know why too many people do this in broad daylight when other people are watching. It is clear that doing so is not safe. But it seems that some people value that more than human lives. When there is a phone ringing, stop the vehicle and talk or call back later. There is the need for bigger fines for these two categories. Another thing – never keep changing lanes; it could be solved by developing a certain amount of common sense, I guess. But it is becoming more and more rare these days – not common. Let’s try to do what is in our power and hope for better results.

This blog post is written in relation to Nissan Safety Driving Forum’s nationwide safety campaign with the concept of “Safety begins with me”. It says that saftety and etiquette are not to be taken lightly as it is the responsibility of each and every driver and not a selected few. There is a duty that we have to our fellow motorists as well as the pedestrians who consists more of the common man. For more details, please check https://www.nissan.in/innovation/NSDF.html and make sure you drive safe.

The Nissan Motor’s Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) is part of its safety driving promotion activities, having the beginning in 2012. Starting with three main Indian cities – Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai – it has gone on to touch other cities. This year, NSDF has new cities to go – Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Vadodara, Nagpur, Chennai, Mangalore and Cochin with a reach to about two lakh citizens. NSDF has also seen an impressive 126% growth in the sensitisation of wearing seatbelts. It also conducts simulated car crash to understand safety. Nissan’s NSDF continues to try to build awareness of safe driving in India as it encourages drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts through interactive programmes. Nissan’s aim is to decrease fatalities and injuries caused by traffic accidents, and it considers the same a commitment to the customers in India.